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Vizag military harbour (Andhra Pradesh-NE India)

Characteristics

Description

The city was so important during times of war that the Indian government decided to set up the Eastern Naval Command, overlooking the more populous Chennai and Kolkata,
and developed Visakhapatnam during that period.

The establishment of
the E.N.C. soon after the construction of the ship building yard firmly
secured Visakhapatnam's place in the annals of the Indian Navy. Some of
the defence related establishments are N.S.T.L. (Naval Science and
Technology Laboratories), which is responsible for the development and
testing of warship technology, equipment and weapons and Bharat Dynamics
Ltd is coming up for manufacturing heavy and light weight torpedoes.
The navy also has a naval dockyard [started in 1949] in the city where
recently India's first Nuclear Submarine was launched. The navy has
plans to set up submarine base in the city at the alternate ENC base in
Rambilli near Visakhapatnam.

The Navy is also constructing a second base as the current base is
overpopulated and not sufficient to meet the needs of the E.N.C. Despite
its importance, the Naval establishment has become a hindrance for the
development of Visakhapatnam. The harbour is not open to the general
public for reasons of security, while in Mumbai and Kochi, the entire
port along with Naval docks are opened for boating and tourism.

Visakhapatnam is surrounded on three sides by the overlapping mountain ranges, and the southeastern city is safeguarded by the Bay of Bengal.
Visakhapatnam is far away from any international border, both land and
sea, making it the choice for strategic placement of the headquarters of
the eastern naval command.